Discussion

Walking by the former Gold Mountain Restaurant premises (644 Broadway), I noticed an ABC notice of license transfer posted. The new licensee is an entity called "China Live" and the applicant was listed as Cynthia April Wong.

The kicker here is that Cynthia April Wong also happens to be the name of the wife of George Chen, of Betelnut, Shanghai 1930 and Xanadu fame.

"The time has come to announce George is in contract with a prominent space in the heart of San Francisco to create and develop his legacy project. This will be ~25,000 SQF premise that will be ground-breaking concept for Chinese/Asian culinary arts. Think of it as a Chinese 'Eataly' as in an immense food emporium with live 'theatrical cooking stations' that also serve food a la a haute food court. Upstairs, there will be super fine-dining establishment called Eight Tables by George Chen serving a seasonal multi-course prix fixe menu that will be at the cutting edge of Chinese cuisine. As in the name, there will only 8 tables served each evening."

I was about to ask how Brandon Jew is juggling the Chinatown project with his responsibilities with Chino. But I see I missed this announcement that he's now focused full time on his upcoming spot in Chinatown.http://sf.eater.com/archives/2014/02/...

Perhaps Chen is not ready to announce his "Chinese Eataly" or is changing the concept. In any event, the posting of the liquor license transfer notification (just one week ago) indicates he (or his wife) is moving forward with something at the site.